Reboot Systems India in talks to raise $15 million to $25 million to take on GreenDust, OverCart

Reboot Systems India, a refurbisher of desktop computers, laptops and smartphones, is in talks to raise $15 million to $25 million in early-stage funding.Gulveen Aulakh | ET Bureau | October 23, 2015, 08:08 IST

NEW DELHI: Reboot Systems India, a refurbisher of desktop computers, laptops and smartphones, is in talks to raise $15 million to $25 million in early-stage funding as private equity investor interest in the business increases.

The company, which operates in the same space as GreenDust, OverCart and others, currently refurbishes only Apple mobile devices and plans to include other brands, too. It is adding retail consumers to its client list of educational institutions, nongovernmental organisations and companies.

The funds raised will be spent on enhancing technology to refurbish smartphones including data wiping and data analysis, recruiting additional employees and adding Reboot stores over the next two years.

“This Diwali, you will see our focus shift to consumers,” said Rahul Chowdhury, chief executive officer and co-founder of Reboot, which was started in 2012. After starting with revenue of Rs 90 lakh, the company plans to close the current financial year with revenue of Rs 25 crore.

“We’re going to raise between $15 million and $25 million,” he added, without disclosing the equity he plans to dilute.

Refurbishing mobile phones and other consumer electronic products is a multi-billion dollar opportunity in India, which has been highlighted by companies such as Foxconn Technology Group.

The world’s largest contract manufacturer is in advanced stages of investing Rs 430-460 crore in GreenDust, putting refurbishing as an industry in India on the global map.

The refurbished and unboxed mobile phone category itself is expected to grow 30% annually till 2020 from about $1.5-2 billion in 2014 and has got global investors interested. The growth in the segment has also propelled online retailer Amazon to start refurbished sections on its sites.

“This is a brand new category, which is growing at the speed of sound. Investors will come and tell us the valuation,” Chowdhury said. The market in India for refurbished electronics is expected to rise to more than $50 billion by 2020 from $20 billion now, as per industry estimates.

Reboot, which is the only Microsoft-registered refurbisher in India, plans to optimise this interest and increase

capabilities. It will add Samsung Electronics, LG and HTC to beef up its mobile phone business and will introduce additional products such as gaming consoles, including Xbox, fitness products and LED and LCD televisions within four months.

It will increase the number of showcase stores to 250 by March 2017 by appointing master franchisees in each state. “We will also do some acquisitions in the mobility space who don’t have any profitability but are focused on B2C,” Chowdhury added.

Sponsored Stories

Subscribe to our Newsletters

After PSU banks, the government is likely to infuse capital in two chronically ill telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL, and the Union Cabinet is likely to take a decision on 4G spectrum allocation to them by the third week of the current month after DoT places the note before it for consideration.

At a high-level meeting at the PMO late Tuesday, it was also decided that the two telcos will frame a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to reduce their employee strength, which will be followed by a reduction in the retirement age to 58.